Modern day companies rely on software applications and significant amount of data to conduct their business. Software deals with various aspects of companies' businesses, e.g., finances, product development, human resources, customer service, management, etc. To effectively conduct their businesses, companies may wish to obtain data that is not within their control. This data can include data that can be publicly available from governmental agencies (e.g., federal government, state governments, municipalities, etc.) as well as data available from various private entities, e.g., companies, organizations, individuals, etc. In some cases, companies may wish and/or may be required to share their data with other entities (whether private or public entities) for a variety of purposes.
Sharing of data may be useful for the purposes of effectively setting up and/or conducting business in a particular geographical area. For example, a retailer wishing to setup a brick and mortar store in a particular area can seek to obtain census data relating to the population residing in that area from government agencies as well as private company data belonging to companies already doing business in that area to determine spending habits of the residents. Data can also be shared for a variety of other purposes, e.g., manufacturing, research and development, marketing, advertising, etc.
Data can include any form of data, e.g., emails, files, videos, text, data tables, reports, forms, etc. Conventional ways of sharing data typically require elaborate processes that may include significant preparations and triggers to be implemented. Such processes introduce substantial time delays and processing costs. Thus, there is a need for a process of sharing data that is simplified and relatively inexpensive allowing entities to get access to vital data quickly, as well as a process that can support finely-granular regulation of confidence of data based on a sharing policy and that can allow easier sharing of data through use of database mechanisms and platform-based support, thereby providing a convenient and user-friendly data exchange